Tickbt-dispshsiistg machine



y 1929- c. s. DIMITRAKIS 1,713,748

TICKET DISPENSING MACHINE Filed July 18, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 004W, A91 JIM zisa zarnm May 21, 1929. c. G. DIMiTRAKIS 1,713,7

TICKET DISPENSING MACHINE Filed July 18, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 a w@ w: llnmn ll M Q ww CONSTANTINE DIMITRAKIS,

015 BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

TICKET-DISFENSIHG MACHINE.

Application filed July 18,

This invention relates to machinesgtor automatically delivering a succession of flat strips of sheet material such as cardboard and more particularly to machines for dispensing ticlc ets or checks to the customers of restaurants or lunch rooms, upon their entry into the establishment.

The practice of handing or i'nechanically delivering a lunch check to each customer prior to his ordering and obtaining the food for which the charge is subsequently punched upon the printed check, is well known, and many sorts of devices have been provided for holding and distributing the checks in order to save the time and etlort expended by the earlier custom of manual delivery. The

present invention is an improvement uponthat type oil? automatic machine which iui tiall'y delivers a single check so that it may be grasped by the customer and removed from the machine the removal of the lust check causing the machine automatically to deliver a second check for the succeeding customer,

the ope aid on being continued intermittently shown by way of illustration in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a central longitudinal section through the container of the machine, with portions of the mechanism in side elevation;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section to enlarged scale of a detail of the machine, taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the device with the checks removed;

Fig. 4: is a fragmentary view similar to Fig. 1, but showing a different position of the movable elements of the apparatus; and

Fig. 5 a diagrammatic view of the electric circuit.

The apparatus is preferably mounted upon a base 6 within a casing 7 provided. with an upright ticket chamber 8 open at both ends and provided at its bottom with. side ledges 9 to support the superposed block 10 of individual lunch checks. An opening 11 which is 1927. Serial No. 206,547.

closed by a door 12 pivoted on a rod 13, when the machine is in the inoperative position of Fig. l, is provided in the front of the casing or box through which an individual check may be delivered. A leaf spring 14:, fastened at one end to a block 15 of insulating material, contacts with the outer surface of the door and tends to hold the latter in closed position. An arm 16 also mounted on the rod 13 and preferably integral with the door 12 as shown is arranged at right angles to the door and so connected with it that the arm turns on the pivot when the door is opened. In the position of Fig. 1 the arm is engaged. in a knife switch 17 also mounted on block 15.

Mounted for longitudinal sliding movement in slots 18 of the side walls of the casing is a reciprocating bar 19 provided with upstanding lingers 20 and having a central groove 21 in its bottom stuff-ace. The bar is disposed to slide beneath the l lock of checks and the fingers project just enough to engage behind the rear edge oi a single check when the bar is moved forwardly from the inoperative position. livoted to the rear end of the bar 19 at 22 is a connecting rod 23 mounted at its ier end in bifurcated crank arm of a s t The shai't is connected. through.

bevel gears 26 and 27 to the rotor shaft of an electric motor 28 of any suitable type.

()peration of the crank shaft revolves the crank arm 2 in the direction of the arrow oi 1, moving the connecting rod and bar 15) forwardly so that the lingers 2O catch behind the individual chech 29 and push the same through the aperture 11 opening the door 12 to the position shownin Fig. i. The swing of the door releases the pivoted arm 16 "from its sliding contact with the switch 17, so that the motor is disconnected and the mechanism stops with the check 29 in position to be withdrawn by the customer, the door being maintained in open position by the check, as shown. lhe bottom groove 21 of the bar permits the arm 16 to move upward a suficient distance without contacting with the bar. When the check is retracted from the machine, the door is closed by the spring 14, closing the switch 1617 and causing the motor to turn the crank arm through a complete revolution; thus automatically projecting another check into receiving position.

The electric circuit illustrated in Fig. 5 and the wiring indicated in Fig. t show the simple arrangement by which the above operation is automatically controlled. The knife ilO v exhausted.

hit

switch 17 is connected by a wire andv 4) to the base of the switch 17'; and wire 32 may be secured at 34: to the spring fastening on block 15. Movement of the door by the check 29 breaks the circuit at 17, as indicated by the dotted lines of Fig. 5. V i

The machine will thus distribute individually the entire block oi": checks contained in the chamber 8, the cheeks preferably being pressed downwardly to proper position on the shelves 9 by a weight 35 placed on top of the pile. The device will commence to operate as soon as the motor is connected to the power source and will continue to function without attention until thechecks have all been delivered or the source of power shut off. The'chamber 8 may be of such dimensions as to accommodate a check of any desired size and tickets or sheets other than lunch checks may be dispensed if desired, it being understood that this'invention is not limited to the exact details of construction herein described eircept as it may be defined in the following claims.

If desired, a signal, such as the bell 36 connected in the electric circuit (Fig. 5) may be provided to indicate the operation of removing a check and to furnish a'warning when the supply of checks in the machine has been The bell may be connected in any desired manner, and it will be obvious from the illustration in Fig. 5 that the bell will ring wheneverthe switch 17 is closed to operate the motor. r Y

I'claim:

1. A machine for automatically dispensing tickets, comprising in combination a container for holding a plurality ofseparate tickets in superposed relation, a door beneath the pile of tickets, said' door being closed when the machine isin inoperative position,

mechanism iorprojecting the bottom ticket of the pile from the machine to open the door and hold the door open until the ticket is. manually withdrawn, an electric motor for operating the projecting mechanism, a

switch in the motor circuit mounted near the door, said door being pivoted at its bottom for swinging movement in a vertical plane when the machine is in inoperative position,

mechanism for projecting thebo tto'm ticket of the pile from the machine to open the door 7 i and hold the door open until the ticket is manually withdrawn, an electric vmotor for operating the projectingmechanism, a knife switch in the motor circuit mounted near the door, said door being pivoted at itsbottom for swinging movement in a vertical plane and having an integralarm extending into the machine and movable about the door contact with said switch upon the opening of the door so that contact between the arm and switch is not-broken until the door has opened a substantial degree, thecsaid arm having an electrical connection with the power sources for the motor whereby the motor is stopped upon the breaking oi said contact and is automatically started again upon the closing of said switch.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

CONSTANTINE G. DIMITRAKIS.

pivot, said arm engaging the knife switch when the door is closed and having sliding 

